A YA debut thriller about a serial killer and the ones he left behind.
🔪
Ten years ago Jess’s mom was murdered by The Magpie Man. She was the first death that started the serial killer’s path. Now 13 women are dead and Jess has a plan to stop him before a 14th can occur. She gets a role on a new YouTube reality show where they highlight different kids who have had something traumatic happen to them. As the cameras follow Jess around and her notoriety grows, so does interest in decade-long forgotten case. The Magpie Man is still out there and now he’s watching.
🔪
I was underwhelmed by this YA thriller It had a good concept and I liked the short chapters, but I was bored a lot of the time. The writing seemed almost clinical at times and the ending left me disappointed.

CW: death of a parent (recounted), grief, suicide, suicide attempt, murder, stalking

(thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.)

this was a spine-tingling and creepy read overall, despite the ending not hitting as expected.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I love serial killer books so i really enjoyed this one! It was fast-paced and kept me guessing. Great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

With everything going on in my life this past week and also with the news of friends and family and areas damaged by the floods, things have been rocky and crazy over the past couple of weeks, so much that I have found my reading not being as prolific as usual. This past week, I only managed to read two books and had a handful of DNFS. One of the books I managed to finish was Vincent Ralph's 14 Ways to Die. This book was an awesome YA thriller read and incorporated not only a decade long serial killer but also was able to show the differences between what it was like ten years ago when the characters Mum died in 2009 to the present time in 2019 and how far technology has come. When Jess's mum first died, the police put articles in the newspaper but never came close to catching her killer. Now ten years later, Jess has the chance to expose and catch the killer known as the Magpie Man. Since Jess's mum died - 12 more have been killed and if he follows his timeline, then a new victim isn't far off. Jess has been given the opportunity to participate in a Youtube Channel competition and her goal in mind is to make people aware of the Magpie Man and catch him as someone out there knows something. Can Jess finally be the one to catch him and solve the crimes the police couldn’t? What happens when she discovers the killer is a lot closer to her circle and that it's someone she knows? Find out in this fun YA Thriller novel “14 Ways to Die" by Vincent Ralph. Fans of authors like Sara Shepard and Karen M McManus will enjoy.

4/5 Stars

I’m way overdue for this review so I’ll keep it short and sweet. This premise of the daughter of a serial killer’s victim puts herself out there (on social media) and inadvertently becomes a target is great! It had me entertained the whole time and I really felt for Jessica and how her family was destroyed by the Magpie Man and her quest for justice. Overall this is perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder!

There may have been enough plot here for a short story, but the author tugged it like a stale laffy taffy until it was unrecognizable as sustenance. I'm willing to bet it was Banana flavored too.

While I wouldn’t call this book special or unique, it was a quick read. Definitely worthy of a fast-paced thriller title.

Super short chapters make it a quick read, and the premise is definitely interesting: a girl, whose mom was the first victim of a serial killer auditions to become a reality show star in hopes of bringing the killer down.
I definitely did not expect the reveal of the killer to be who it was, so it definitely did its job by keeping me guessing.

While a little predictable, this book was a nice ode to OG murder mysteries while bringing in the new, social media.

The idea and premise behind this book were really cool and were what originally got my attention. While things didn't go exactly how I thought they would, I still really enjoyed this book. It used social media in a new way of documenting murder mystery-ness live, while also bringing up some of the hard/bad parts about social media. It was nice to combine the reality show-ness with social media. It was almost like The Circle meets Big Brother meets murder mystery.

I thought the leading lady, Jess, was the perfect main character for this story. She was brave, a little reckless, and committed to her cause. A murder mystery just wouldn't be the same without a reckless protagonist. I found myself rooting for her on multiple occasions. She'd been through so much with her mother's murder, suffering not only the loss of a parent but the effects that death had on her father and those around her.

Plus, because she was so committed to solving this crime, we were able to tag along as she investigated her fellow reality show stars and their motives. It was fun to learn more about these teenagers and their pasts. Everyone was hiding something and none of it was good. I truly began to wonder what the producers of the show must have been thinking when making the show and finding these people.

A couple of negatives were the predictability and fast-paced-ness. I don't mind some predictability, but I hate when it's too easy. I want to be challenged and feel vindicated when my doubts are cleared up at the end and the killer is caught. This was just a little too easy. Also, I love fast-paced books. I'd take fast or slow-paced any day. But this book sacrificed some suspense and much-needed descriptive build-up to get there. I hated that.

Overall, this was an inventive and nice murder mystery novel for the modern age.

Jessica Simmons’ mother was the first murder victim of the Magpie Man. She will do anything to find the serial killer and bring him to justice.
Her quest goes live when she gets picked for a YouTube show called “The Eye”. Will viewers be able to help her find the man behind the murders?

This is an easy-to-read thriller perfect for the targeted age group!
I loved the short chapters and the storyline. The characters were full of personality with all the feels. It touches on mental health, abuse, loss of a loved one, changes in friendships, and being aware of others going through the same trials you are and how you can work together to find healing. The ending is full of action and adds to the thriller factor.
I would recommend this book to readers that enjoy a good thriller story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I love YA and I love it even more when I find books my students would love. The use of social media keeps this book more current and it's fast pace will keep you reading. The story and the characters where likeable with a good reveal.

Holy shit. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did! I read about 70% of it in one sitting. And that's after being in a reading slump. I'm glad to get out of my slump!

I was a little cautious at first with Jessica's live-stream. I felt it was going to be awkward and very boring. In a way, it was but it didn't read as a straight through the day with every little detail. I was actually really interested in some of the other live-streamers and their stories, so when the twists with that came out I was slightly disappointed but it really kept the rest of the story going.

The ending was completely surprising to me. I admit that in most cases, the thrill usually goes over my head and I never see it coming, but I feel this came out of left field altogether. I definitely did not see it coming at all.

I loved watching Jessica become a brave young woman who stood up for herself, her mother, and all the victims -- their families -- that were affected by the Magpie Man. This is a young woman who was not going to take things sitting down, she was determined to find the answers that she had been looking for 10 years.

This was a great read with just enough edge of the seat curiosity. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys YA mystery/thrillers, and really if you enjoy reality TV this might scratch that itch, too.

This was a really fantastic read! The whole concept of someone using their social media platform and influence to help catch a killer is a pretty interesting one! And this book was so fast to read, the chapters never got more than 3 pages, and most were about one, and it was so easy to fly through this book!

I had some imaginings what this book would be about, but I didn't quite guess. I thought that she would have her own channel, but it's a series that she joins, and it's a competition between her and other people with interesting hooks, to get the most views, so they can continue to be on the show. I would've liked a little bit more of this, especially given what happens with the show there...

A good portion of this book is about grief, and how people deal with it in various ways, and some ways different people react to it. Jess and her dad have been living with the loss of her mother for years, and they both have different ways of coping.

I loved how the clues came together! Some things that we didn't know at the time were clues, but they were planted, and so that ending came together really well! That was pretty intense, but Jess mostly kept her head, and that just worked out very well!

Loved reading it, it was a compelling mystery!

Comparing this to One of Us Is Lying and AGGGTM had me requesting this so fast! This was a fairly quick read that kept me interested, invested, and entertained throughout. The YA genre is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres, even though I'm 32 and not the target demo. This book felt real, especially with the social media aspect, and I would recommend this to everyone interested in YouTube, social media, or thrilling adventures.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book kept me wanting to know more, it was a great page turner. The characters were likeable but I felt like the ending did feel a bit rushed but overall a good read

Although I am not a fan of the title of this book because it doesn’t capture what it is really about, I did really like the book and the premise. Jess has always wanted to catch the man who killed her mother, so when she has a chance to be part of a You Tube reality show, she jumps at it to bring the serial killer’s killing back to the headlines. And boy does she!

This novel had a fast paced and gripping plot, perfect for the social media age and had some poignant moments surrounding this. It will certainly do well in the current market of twisty YA thriller/mysteries like one of us is lying and A good girls guide to murder.

This was a quick read told from the perspective of a young woman, who's Mother was murdered by The Magpie Man. It's a unique premise that she goes on a reality show to try to catch the killer. This felt like a YA book due to the limited scares and character interaction despite their age. I found it to be a fun read.